Lost Pirates
by Akirafanatic
Summary: He grew up a slave, abused and tormented until he was nothing more than a living puppet. A chance storm separates him from his masters and into the care of Pirate Hunter Zoro.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own One Piece. If I did, Ace would be alive.**

* * *

Zoro frowned as he glanced towards his silent traveling companion. He wasn't sure what had made him invite the boy along. His way of life would probably get the kid killed, but something about him made the swordsman uneasy about leaving him back at that marine base. Maybe it was the way he'd stood in front of the marines who were ordered to shoot him, not making the slightest effort to move or get away. Maybe it was because he'd gotten Zoro's swords back for him. Maybe it was that blank expression on his face, or the almost non-existent look of confusion that would cross his face when someone patted his shoulder.

He didn't know. All he knew was that something in his gut was demanding he take the kid somewhere else. Zoro was sure he'd be able to find someone else to take care of him at the next island. For now, though, he was stuck with whoever the kid was. Scowling, he realized he didn't even know the kid's name.

"Oi, kid." The younger boy turned to look at him, eyes directed towards the bottom of their little boat rather than looking the swordsman in the eye. "What's your name?" His scowl deepened when he didn't get an answer. "Well? I can't just call you kid all the time. What's your name?" The kid didn't move and didn't answer. Zoro wasn't sure if it was because he didn't know his name, or if he couldn't speak. He couldn't exactly ask the kid to write it, seeing as how he didn't have paper with him. Or anything to write with.

Deciding he'd deal with it later, the green haired male laid back against the boat and closed his eyes. He needed a nap.

* * *

Nami glanced at her two companions, guilt settling into her stomach as she caught sight of the bruises and scars. The green haired one was _Pirate Hunter Roranoa Zoro_. She figured he could handle Buggy and his men. She hadn't meant for the other kid to get so hurt. She hadn't even seen him until Zoro had said something. How was she supposed to know the feared demon had a kid traveling with him? And the kid didn't even bother to _move_ when the pirates were about to kill him! She wasn't sure if it was trust that Zoro would protect him, or if he was just an idiot.

Either way, she still felt bad that it was because she'd asked for their help that he'd gotten so hurt. At least Zoro had agreed to her traveling with them after she said she'd patch them up. She'd tried talking to the kid while bandaging his cuts, but was met with nothing but silence. She hoped Zoro would have been able to explain, but apparently, he'd only met the kid a few days before she'd run into them. That had surprised Nami, since the pirate hunter had seemed rather protective of the younger male while they were fighting Buggy.

"We're a few days from the next island. We should be able to resupply there." Zoro grunted in reply, looking for all the world like he was about to sleep. The kid didn't even react, sitting curled at the front of the little boat he and Zoro were sharing. He seemed so small. Nami wondered how old he was. Probably no older than fourteen if she had to guess. With a sigh, the navigator went into the cabin of the small ship she'd taken from Buggy to recount her treasure. There was no need for her to get attached if she was just going to leave them anyway.

* * *

Usopp had been so excited to start on his adventure to become a real pirate. The strange people who had helped save his village had agreed to give him a lift to a more populated town so he could either find a crew to join or start his own. Kaya had even given him a ship! Although, technically she'd given it to the others. He wondered if they'd be willing to part with it.

"So where are we headed?"

Nami smiled and gestured towards the horizon. "We agreed to get you somewhere you could start on your _pirate journey_." Usopp got the feeling she wasn't as happy about that as he was. "The best place to do that is probably Logue Town. It's near the entrance to the Grand Line, so there're bound to be a lot of pirates who stop by."

"I've heard of that place! It's where the Pirate King was executed, right?" Nami nodded.

"It's also known as the town of beginnings and endings for that reason. We can drop you off there while we resupply." Usopp nodded. He'd be sad to leave them, but now that he's finally set sail, nothing will stop him from becoming a brave warrior of the sea like his father!

He faltered a little when he saw the kid on his hands and knees, scrubbing at the deck from the corner of his eyes. Usopp didn't know what to think about him. The kid didn't speak, didn't react to _anything_ , and always seemed like he was spacing out. When he'd asked, Nami had just shrugged and said Zoro had picked him up before she'd met them. The sniper didn't think Zoro was the type of person who would pick up random kids and whisk them away from their home, but when he'd asked the swordsman had just said he'd promised to find someone to take care of him on his way.

"Hey, kid," He hoped the boy would tell them their name soon. It was weird referring to someone as _kid_ or _you_ all the time. "You don't have to do that; the ship is brand new." He didn't get a response as the kid continued as though he hadn't heard him.

Going over to where he was cleaning, Usopp knelt and put his hand on the kid's, making him stop. "It's okay." He gently tugged the rag – which looked suspiciously like part of the shirt he was wearing – out of the boy's hands. "You don't have to do that." The kid just continued to stare down at his hands. Getting up, he gave the kid one last glance before making his way back to Nami and Zoro. The redhead was frowning in thought, and the green haired male had one eye partly open to watch the kid before it slid back closed and he appeared to go back to sleep.

Before he could ask why the kid felt the need to scrub the new, clean deck, Nami walked past him. Turning to see what had caught her interest, he frowned at the sight of the boy once again scrubbing at the deck, his shirt obviously torn now. He kept silent as Nami proceeded to take the rag from the kid's hands and explain how he didn't have to clean. Usopp wasn't sure if the kid was even understanding what the navigator was saying.

He didn't get a chance to voice his thoughts when Zoro opened his eyes. "Kid," he waited until the boy turned to look at him, "Come here." It was silent as the boy made his way over to the swordsman. The green haired male pat the deck right next to him. "Sit." Once he was seated, Zoro wound an arm around the scarily thin waist to keep him there. Usopp didn't know why, but something about this entire situation made him feel uneasy.

* * *

Nami smiled as she watched the long-nosed male moving about the kitchen. "I didn't know you could cook Usopp."

"Of course! The great captain Usopp can do anything! Why, kings and queens have been _begging_ me to cook for them for _ages_!" The navigator rolled her eyes but didn't comment. She was preoccupied by thoughts of the kid. She'd seen the old scars when she'd bandaged him earlier, and from where he'd ripped his shirt for a makeshift rag. There were a lot. Too many to count, and that was only from the bit she'd seen.

It made her wonder, was it his parents? His family? Were they so abusive he ran away? Or did they throw him out? Maybe it was some relatives? Or maybe he was an orphan? He could have been kidnapped as well. If he was, was his family looking for him? Were the people who took him still after him? How long had it been going on?

There were too many questions and no answers. She'd tried asking the kid, but he'd kept his silence. And that made her wonder if he could speak at all. Maybe he was mute. Or maybe Usopp was right and he didn't understand what they were saying. Unless he couldn't hear them? Groaning inwardly as more and more questions surfaced, the navigator rubbed her temples to ward off the incoming headache.

She shouldn't even be worrying about this. She was going to ditch them as soon as she could, take the money she'd stolen from Buggy and add it to her collection. She was getting so close to being done. Just a few hundred more and she could _finally_ buy back her village. Then she wouldn't have to 'work' for Arlong anymore. She'd be free do travel the seas and work towards her dream of mapping out the world.

Taking a deep breath, she put aside thoughts of her dream. She could think about it and get excited about it after Arlong was gone and her village was safe. As much as the small group was growing on her, she knew she couldn't stay with them. Strong as Zoro was, she didn't want to put the kid in harm's way again, and Usopp was the strongest or bravest person alive. And if Arlong found out she was sailing with them? He'd sink the ship and kill them all. She couldn't live with that. Not after they'd helped her. She had to leave. Once they got to Logue Town, while the others were distracted, she'd take the ship and head out.

Turning away from her plans as a plate was set in front of her, Nami thanked the sniper and took a bite. "It's good, thanks Usopp."

"Of course! My food is the best in the world! All other chefs cower-"

"Don't push it, I said it's good, but I've had better." Usopp wilted but stopped nonetheless. Opening the door to the galley, the sniper called the other two in to eat. It was nice, eating with others. It almost reminded her of when she was younger – before Arlong came – when she would eat with Nojiko and Belemere.

Looking at the others making their way to the table, she smiled a little. It wasn't the same, but it was still better than eating alone – or with Arlong and his crew.

Nami was halfway through her meal when she noticed the kid wasn't eating. His eyes were staring blankly at the food in front of him as though he didn't know what it was, hands in his lap, and making no move to eat. She looked up and nudged Usopp's and Zoro's legs under the table, tilting her head towards the kid when they looked – glared, in the swordsman's case – at her. With his shirt ripped from where he'd torn it for rags to clean with, it was painfully obvious he was severely underweight. Nami could easily count his ribs from her spot at the table.

It hurt, seeing someone so young suffering like this. "What's wrong?" She kept her voice quiet, unable to speak much louder lest her voice start wavering. "Aren't you hungry?" The boy didn't move. "You probably haven't eaten in a long time, but it's okay. You can eat now. Nobody's going to stop you."

"Damn it! I'm such an idiot!" Nami glanced over at the sniper who was gripping the sides of his head. "I can't believe I forgot!"

"Forgot what?" Zoro's eyes narrowed slightly on the long-nosed male.

"Kaya!" Nami wasn't amused. How could he be thinking of a girl right now? Usopp noticed her expression and shook his head. "No, I mean, when Kaya lost her parents she got really depressed and didn't eat much of anything for a while. There were some days she didn't eat anything at all. It's part of the reason she was bedridden. She told me that when she was feeling up to eating again, she had to do it in small amounts at a time. I didn't understand why at first, but she told me that if she had started eating normal meals after basically starving herself, she could have made herself even worse." He gestured to the kid who still hadn't moved. "I don't think it's that he doesn't _want_ to eat, I think it's that he _can't_ eat. He's probably been starved for so long anything he eats gets thrown right back up."

"And you just remember this _now_?"

The sniper flinched at the growl in the green haired male's voice but glared back. "She told me this a long time ago! You can't expect me to remember everything I was told!"

Nami glared at them both. "Now's not the time! Usopp, can't you just make something else for him? Something he _can_ eat?"

The sniper shook his head sadly. "I only know how to make a few things, and he wouldn't be able to keep any of them down."

"What are we going to do then? We can't just let him starve to death!"

"Maybe we can find a doctor who can help us."

"We're another few days from Logue Town _at least_. We don't know how long the kid's gone without food – what if he can't make it that long?

Usopp and Zoro frowned, neither liking the thought of the kid starving to death. "Why don't we just turn around and go back to your village? There's a doctor there, right?"

The sniper shook his head at the swordsman. "There is, but it's a small village. He probably doesn't know how to help with a case this bad. Kaya only went a day or two without eating anything at all – Merry got her to eat at least a little bit otherwise."

Zoro was the one to break the tense silence that had settled after Usopp's statement. "Nami, is Logue Town the _only_ island that could have a doctor that would know how to treat this?"

The navigator thought about that. There _were_ islands closer, but from her knowledge they all had small towns or villages the size of Usopp's. Logue Town was the closest island that had a big enough town to reasonably find a doctor knowledgeable enough to be able to help. It also had a large amount of people going to and from said island, meaning the doctors there had probably seen a lot more types of illnesses than the other islands they could go to.

Finally, she shook her head. "Logue Town is our best bet to find a doctor who might know what to do."

The green haired male nodded. "Then we'll go as fast as we can and hope we make it on time."

* * *

Sanji, for all his talk about leaving one day and becoming a better chef than Zeff and finding the All Blue, never really imagined _actually_ leaving the restaurant. Let alone this early. But then his sweet Nami-swan had entered and asked for the head chef, worry in her eyes and snapping at him for wasting her time flirting. He'd reluctantly gone to get Zeff, part of him realizing whatever she wanted to ask was serious.

When he'd heard she had someone – a _child_ – on her ship that they'd found starved and asked if they could help, all thoughts of flirting went out the window. Zeff had told her to bring him in and when Sanji finally laid eyes on the child, he was violently reminded of what he'd looked like after finally getting off that godforsaken rock with the old geezer.

Zeff had brought them upstairs, not wanting the other diners to stare, and Sanji didn't even wait to be told before heading to the kitchen. When the green headed brute who called himself Nami-swan's _companion_ had seen nothing but a glass of milk in his hands, he'd accused them of not knowing what they were doing. If the old timer hadn't cut in and explained _why_ they were only offering a glass of milk to the starved child, Sanji would have killed him.

Nami-swan, the kid, and the mules they were with were allowed to anchor their boat and stay until the poor kid could at least eat a bit. The geezer refused to charge them for it, saying it was a chef's duty to feed those who were hungry. A few days later, the old man had told them the kid had probably been a slave. Sanji wanted to kill the bastards for starving a child like that – _nobody_ should be subjected to that – and for making Nami-swan cry when she found out.

When Don Kreig showed up demanding food and their restaurant, Sanji and the other chefs had stepped up to stop him. Unfortunately, the bastard had some annoying tricks to that gaudy armor of his and decided that since they wouldn't _give_ their restaurant to him, he'd destroy it instead.

And then Mihawk had appeared.

The idiot moss head just _had_ to go and challenge him, getting himself nearly cut in half after doing so. The long-nosed idiot had pulled him into the small boat they were in and yelled to Sanji they'd be back for the kid once they found Nami-sawn and their boat. The fucking idiots probably didn't even realize Kreig could have killed them all. No doubt would have been safer with them than leaving him with Sanji and the other cooks.

All said and done though, it was a good thing they _had_ left the kid. If it hadn't been for him, the restaurant would have been destroyed and everyone killed. He still wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but one minute the kid was behind him and Zeff, and the next he was in front of Kreig and punching him so hard the man flew overboard where the armor he'd been so proud of dragged him to the bottom. Kreig's crew had gone after him, managing to save him, and would have continued their assault had Mihawk – Sanji _swore_ he watched the man sail away after almost killing that sorry excuse of a swordsman – not finished off what remained of Kreig's ship (thankfully _after_ they'd gotten the kid back to the restaurant), leaving them nowhere to fight. They'd cursed and swore revenge on the restaurant and Mihawk as they swam away.

Sanji had seen the boy staring at the hand he'd punched Kreig with as though he didn't know what it was. Zeff had reasoned the kid had moved on _instinct_ rather than making the conscious choice to help. The blond wasn't sure, but he knew that if the kid could punch Kreig that hard while still weak from starvation, then he was probably a _monster_ when at full strength.

When Zeff had asked Mihawk why he'd come back, the swordsman had simply replied he'd decided he was tired of his provisions and made the decision to eat at the restaurant instead. Sanji wouldn't put it past the man who'd sunk a fleet of ships because he was _bored_. The old man then had the gall to kick Sanji out while telling him to take the boy to his friends. The blond was pissed at the geezer, but he understood what wasn't said.

The kid needed a cook – one who knew what he was doing when it came to reintroducing food to a starved individual – wherever he was going or he wouldn't last. And while he trusted Nami-swan to look out for the boy, he didn't trust the other two not to screw him up worse.

So now here they were, sailing off in the direction they'd seen the others leave in hours earlier. It was pure luck they managed to fish out Johnny, one of the two idiotic bounty hunters that had come in with Nami-swan, who was able to direct them to the right island.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, the cook placed a small bowl of soup in front of the kid – and damn if it didn't piss him the fuck off that there was no name for him, he'd have to talk to Nami-swan about giving him one. "Eat what you can, whatever you don't finish will go to that idiot." He jerked a thumb back towards Johnny, who was more interested in fishing than listening to what he was saying.

As much as Sanji despised wasting food, he knew better than to force the kid to eat more than what he was able to. He'd made the mistake of just telling him to eat their first day at sea and had spent the next few hours cursing himself as the kid finished the whole bowl and then proceeded to throw it all back up.

If Sanji ever found out who the bastards where that had the kid before, he'd show them what he thought about them starving a child.

* * *

Nami felt her anger at the paper in her hands was justified. Thirty million. _Thirty. Million._ That's the price they put on the poor kid's head when he didn't do _anything_ except save her and her village. That damn rat who had been in Arlong's pocket for _years_ had put a _bounty_ on the kid who defeated the pirate, _and then that the nerve to label that same kid a pirate as well_.

She'd been surprised when Zoro and Usopp had shown up at her village – the former with a serious wound that hadn't been there when she'd left. She'd been angry when the blond from the restaurant had shown up with the kid in tow. Arlong was going to _kill_ him, and the kid had been through more than enough already. So when the rat bastard had taken the money she'd been saving all this time, she had, admittedly, snapped. She'd yelled, screamed, cried, and finally begged the people she'd been sailing with for help. She couldn't go back to work for Arlong after he did this. She _couldn't_.

The navigator hadn't known what to expect – Arlong was a lazy bastard who had his subordinates do all the work for him, but he was a fishman and a lot stronger than normal humans. So when she arrived at Arlong Park after calming down, she was surprised to find it in ruins. Zoro and Sanji were collapsed on the ground, both bleeding and completely worn out. Usopp, who was a little ways back, was roughed up and exhausted as well. All the fishmen were unconscious, and Arlong was missing. Nami's heart skipped a beat when she realized the kid was gone too.

Before she could ask her older sister what had happened, her desk – the one she'd been forced to work at until her hand bled – flew out from the room that had been her prison all these years. Tears once more gathered and fell as she watched all those damned maps fly through the air. How many times had she imagined this. How many times had she wished she could destroy her cage and finally be free?

And just when she thought everything was over, Arlong came flying out with his nose broken and completely unconscious. The kid she'd been terrified Arlong would kill fell from the hole in the building, saved from a landing that would have killed him by some of the villagers.

When Nami caught a glimpse of the boy as they villagers took him to the doctor, she'd thought he was dead. There was so much blood, his face was a mass of bruises and cuts that made identifying him all the harder.

She'd stayed nearby the whole time he was being operated on, and sat by his side as he slept. This boy, who'd been a slave for who knows how long, who was starved to the point he was almost a walking skeleton, who didn't – wouldn't? _couldn't_? – speak, and who had probably been hurt more than anyone else she knew, had been the one to destroy the chains Arlong had on her. Nami knew that no matter what happened, no matter how much she tried, she could never repay him for that.

And now because he'd saved her village, because he'd saved _her_ , the marines were going to be hunting him down.

"So what are we going to do now?" She looked up at the sniper, raising an eyebrow, and he elaborated. "The marines think the kid's a pirate, they're going to keep coming after him. Not to mention bounty hunters! I know he took down Arlong, but he almost _died_ doing so!"

"Besides," Sanji exhaled a cloud of smoke as he came over, offering Nami a chilled drink, "if we stay with him, we'll be labeled pirates as well. I don't know what anyone else is thinking, but I'm not gonna leave the kid. He'd probably go back to being starved if I did, and I don't trust any other two-bit chef out there to know what they're doing when it comes to feeding him – or getting him to actually eat for that matter."

The cook's voice was bitter, but Nami could understand. The kid never ate unless everyone else was finished first, and even then he wouldn't until most – if not all – of them left. If Nami had to guess, she'd say it was ingrained in him – he couldn't eat until everyone else was finished and left. It made her sick. And even then Sanji had to tell – she refused to call it a _command_ – the boy to eat before he would. If it upset her this much, she could only imagine how horrible it made the blond feel.

"I don't want to be a pirate," Nami said slowly, "But if being a pirate means staying with him, then I suppose I don't have a choice. Besides, you all wouldn't make it to the next island without me."

Usopp scratched the back of his head. "I set out to become a pirate in the first place, so if we're gonna be pirates now, then I have no reason to leave."

Nami turned to the sleeping swordsman. "What about you mister _pirate hunter_?"

The green haired male cracked an eye open and yawned. "My only goal is to be the world's greatest swordsman. It doesn't matter whether it's with the law or against it."

"Well, since we're pirates, I suppose we need a flag."

* * *

Usopp nodded to himself, glad to see the wounds Arlong had given the kid were healing well. Nami had gotten some sedatives from the doctor along with painkillers, not wanting the kid to deal with the pain and knowing he wouldn't tell them if it hurt. The sedatives were to make sure he got some actual rest – they'd learned early on in their travels together that even if they could get him to stay in the bed, as he had a habit of leaving once the rest were asleep to clean, he wouldn't sleep unless he passed out.

Both he and Nami had explained to the kid what they were giving him and what it would do, giving him enough time to refuse if he wanted. They'd been careful to watch for any sign – even tiny ones – that the idea of the drugs made him uncomfortable, but found none. It gave them hope that drugs weren't something that had been used to hurt him.

While the doctor – Usopp had learned so many names that night it was hard to keep track of who was who – had wanted them to stay until the kid was fully healed, Zoro had made the call that once his smaller wounds had healed and he was up for travel they would leave. Everyone had protested at first, not wanting to leave until the kid was fully healed and had a proper checkup afterwards, but looking back now the sniper understood why the swordsman had made that call. That rat freak of a marine had been in Arlong's pocket – it only made sense he would be upset and have some form of retaliation. And the longer they stayed, the easier targets they'd be. Not to mention the village would also be in danger once again.

That was why when Nami had brought up the question of who the captain would be, no matter how much he bragged about being the great captain Usopp, he'd honestly thought it would be Zoro. Only the swordsman had refused. He didn't want to be the captain – and Sanji sure as hell refused to serve under him. Nami shot him down and refused being the captain herself. The cook didn't even pause before refusing. He and Zoro – in a rare show of agreement – had said they already had a captain.

Usopp supposed it was only fair. If it hadn't been for the kid, none of them would be here – even if he was only there because Zoro had found him. Besides, he was the only one with a bounty – the only reason they were now pirates in the first place.

Keeping that in mind, the sniper had drawn a few designs for their new flag. It had taken a bit or arguing, but they had finally settled on a simple scull over crossbones with a scar under the scull's left eye. Behind it was the word Lost – Nami's addition after Zoro had said it wasn't very distinctive. Sanji had said to put something in the background and that had been the end result.

Because that's what their new captain was – lost. He'd endured only god knows what for who knows how long, only to somehow escape into a world he probably knew nothing about. And now he was struggling to understand that things were different. He didn't have to clean all the time. He wouldn't ever be starved. And nobody on the crew would hurt him.

Seeing his new captain's eyes scrunch up slightly before opening, Usopp smiled. He'd find himself one day, and his crew would stick with him until he did.

* * *

 **Don't ask where this idea came from, because I have no idea. It just popped into my head one day and demanded to be written. Let me know what you thought and if you want more, because I could just leave it at this.**


	2. Chapter 2

Sanji grinned as he finished washing the dishes. Their captain was almost completely healed – enough for him to be up and moving again. They had made it past Logue Town – although it was a close call when Buggy decided to reappear and try to kill their captain, even though according to Nami-swan it was the shitty swordsman the clown should have been angry at. And they'd finally made it to the Grand Line! They'd almost rammed right into a giant whale, but thanks to the long-nose and his quick thinking they managed to avoid it.

While Nami-swan had wanted to keep going, Usopp had made the point they had to check for any potential damage other than the broken figurehead. Them stopped had led to their meeting of an annoying old guy with flower petals on his head and two other weirdos. If nothing else, they were able to find out about log poses as well as obtain one.

But what had Sanji this happy wasn't any of that. No, he was happy because of their young captain. For the first time, he'd started eating without the cook telling him to. Maybe next they could get him to eat with everyone. They could probably start with one person at a time. While he wouldn't eat while Sanji – or anyone – was sitting at the table, he didn't seem to mind if Sanji hung around to do dishes.

Their current goal, however, was to try and get the child to respond to _Captain_ so they didn't have to keep calling him _kid_. Nami-swan had suggested they call out to him as much as possible until he responded without being touched first. It was slow going, however they were staring to see him respond more and more to the name. Sanji would rather their captain have an actual name, but nobody had been able to agree on one yet.

Glancing back towards his captain, Sanji noticed he wasn't moving. "Are you full captain?" When the child didn't look at him, he sighed a little and wiped his hands dry before moving closer. Placing a gentle hand on the head of black hair he smiled as the child looked up. Their captain still wouldn't meet anyone's eyes, but at least he was looking up now, rather than always at the floor.

"Captain, are you full?" The child looked back towards the half empty bowl but made no move to eat more. "Captain, do you want to go join the others out on the deck?" He paused at the slow blink towards the door. "Or if you're tired you can go lay down for a while." It was still difficult at times, to read their young captain and tell what he wanted, but it got easier with each passing day.

Holding out a hand, he waited patiently for his captain to take it before guiding him out of the chair and towards the door. Steering the child towards the sleeping quarters, he hoisted his captain into one of the hammocks and draped a blanket over him. "Try and get some sleep. Someone will come and get you when dinner is ready, alright?" He didn't get an answer, but the child did close his eyes. Sanji waited for a few moments until his captains breathing started to even out before he went back to finish the dishes.

"Is captain resting?"

Grinning at his beautiful Nami-swan, Sanji whirled over to her and knelt by her lounge chair. "Yes Nami-swan~. Captain fell asleep easily. I don't think he slept again last night." His precious sighed sadly as she gazed towards the cabin door. "Captain was able to eat more today though my sweet. He's managing half a bowl now. At first he could only handle a few spoonful's." He was rewarded with a beautiful smile.

"I'm glad that he's getting better, but he still has a long way to go."

Sanji nodded as he lit a cigarette. He'd promised Nami-swan he'd only smoke out on the deck and nowhere near their captain. "We can't rush him though, or we might undo the progress he _has_ made."

"I know," His darling sighed once more, "It's just hard. He's been through so much. I just want him to be happy."

Sanji smiled and took her hand. "I'm sure he's happier than we know Nami-swan, just being away from the people who did this to him."

His darling smiled again. "You're right. Thanks, Sanji."

"Anything for you Nami-swan." Putting out his cigarette, he returned to the kitchen to finish cleaning and put the rest of his captain's food away until dinner.

* * *

Usopp smiled sadly as he finished washing the shampoo from his captain's hair. It was painful, seeing all the scars on such a young boy. He was just glad that the boy was gaining weight now. You could still count his ribs easily, but he wasn't nearly as starved as when he'd arrived. Thanks to Sanji, the boy was getting closer to being able to finish an entire bowl of whatever special stew the cook was making for him.

Sanji said when he was able to eat an entire bowl at each meal for a few days, he'd be able to switch to some heavier foods. Unfortunately, they still weren't able to get him to eat with anyone else at the table. He was, however, sleeping through the night – or at least staying in his hammock. After a while of their captain getting up and going to clean after they'd all fallen asleep, Usopp had rigged up a small alarm system for when he tried to get up. There were a few miss-calls that had led to soiled sheets and clothes in the morning, but he liked to think they were getting better at telling when their captain was going to try and clean and when he needed the bathroom.

All in all, their captain was slowly recovering. He would be alright.

* * *

Zoro scowled at their extra passenger as he closed his eyes. She was supposedly some _princess_ from somewhere in the Grand Line. While he normally wouldn't care, she'd been part of the group who'd tried to kill _his_ captain. It didn't matter that the group was weak. It didn't matter that he'd been able to take them all out by himself. They'd tried to hurt his captain. _She'd_ tried to hurt his captain.

Zoro didn't trust her.

But they were stuck with her until they reached her homeland. Everyone else on the crew had decided to help her. Even his captain had stood between her and his blade. So he'd had to relent. Zoro swore, however, that if she _ever_ tried to hurt his captain again, he wouldn't hesitate.

Cracking an eye open when someone settled next to him, he couldn't help the small grin that appeared. His captain wasn't looking at him, but this was the first time he'd come and sat with him without Zoro calling him over first. He was starting to act on his own. Hopefully that meant he'd start talking soon and they could finally get a name. While calling him captain was all well and good, it seemed wrong to him for the boy to not have a name.

Settling back down and feeling more at ease, Zoro thought back to when he'd first picked up the small captain. While the changes might not be apparent to everyone, their captain was slowly becoming a whole new person.

* * *

Nami wanted to cry. Their first stop in the Grand Line been _terrible_ , and their second had been even _worse_. Two islands in and their captain was once again bed ridden from his injuries. All because she, Vivi, and Zoro had gotten caught. Usopp had somehow managed to defeat one, but it still had left their captain alone against the weird wax-wax guy.

Nami hadn't been able to see what had happened, as the wax that was slowly turning them to wax statues had blinded her, but when she'd been able to see and move again, her captain had been unconscious and bleeding. She'd done what she could with the supplies they had, but she wasn't a doctor.

She hated the fact that her captain kept getting hurt. He'd been hurt enough already, and she didn't want to see him get hurt even more. "Nami?" She turned and smiled weakly at Vivi. "How's he doing?"

"There's no fever, and I didn't find any broken bones, so I think he'll be alright with some rest."

Vivi put a hand on her shoulder. "And how are you doing?"

Nami gazed down at her captain. "I'm alright, thanks to him." She did feel a _little_ warm, but it wasn't anything too serious. She smiled at her friend. "I'm going to make sure we're still on course. Will you watch him for me?" While their captain didn't need it, she felt better knowing there was someone with him. Vivi nodded and Nami smiled. She'd never wanted to become a pirate, but she was happy she did. Taking one last glance back towards her captain, she swore she'd get stronger, so he wouldn't have to get hurt anymore.

* * *

Chopper was torn between crying at everything he'd found during his preliminary examination of the boy sleeping in the bed and anger at whoever had hurt his new captain in the past. He didn't want to imagine what he'd looked like back when Zoro had found him. From what the others had told him, the captain had been on the brink of death.

He hadn't known the captain for more than a week now and he couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt him. Chopper had been told of what the boy had done for them, even if it meant he got hurt or was nearly killed. He'd seen the resulting injuries from their last fight against someone with wax powers when he and Nami had been brought to the castle for treatment. He'd witnessed the boy take a cannon ball to the chest to protect the flag of someone he didn't know. He'd almost _died_ to try and protect something Chopper held dear.

From the way the rest of the crew had reacted after their captain had been hit, it was clear how much they cared for him. Chopper had thought Wapol had died at first when the crew finally stopped and ran to the boy. Doctor Kureha had had to kick them out while they'd worked on the boy because of their hovering, and they hadn't left his side afterwards until he'd woken up a few days later.

When they'd left, Chopper had gone with them. He couldn't just leave the captain who had risked his life like that. His first order of business when they'd departed had been to examine everyone on the crew so he knew about their injuries and any allergies to medicine or health issues they may have. He'd saved the captain for last, knowing it would be the most difficult not only because of the latest injuries but also because the boy wouldn't – or couldn't, but nobody seemed sure about his ability to speak – tell him about any health issues he had.

Making his way towards the deck, he paused before the door and took a deep breath to calm himself. It wasn't a surprise the rest of the crew was waiting for him on the deck. Glancing at the expectant faces he sighed. "The good news is that he doesn't seem to have any health issues to worry about and probably isn't allergic to any medicine. I also couldn't find anything wrong with his throat or vocal cords, so he either is choosing not to speak, or it could be a psychological issue."

Everyone relaxed at that. Sanji took a drag of his cigarette – which Chopper wanted to get him to quit – and asked, "What's the bad news?"

Frowning and staring at the deck, Chopper felt his eyes burn as he remembered all the injuries, old and new, that littered the captain's body. "He has a lot of injuries, and some of them didn't heal correctly."

Nami frowned. "What do you mean didn't heal correctly?"

"Some of his ribs had been fractured but one didn't heal correctly. Once his current injuries are a little better I'm going to need to operate and then he's going to need a few months of rest to let it heal properly."

"He'll be okay though?"

Chopper nodded at the swordsman. "He should be alright if he is given a proper amount of time to rest and heal." He looked towards Sanji. "He might not have a big appetite after the surgery, but he's going to need to eat to heal."

"I'll make sure he eats." Chopper smiled at the crew. He had a feeling he was going to like being a part of it.

* * *

 **If the last part seems different, it's because I added it after _months_ of not writing _anything_. It's short, but here's an update! Thank you for all the reviews! I'm honestly surprised you all liked this as much as you did. I have an idea for where I want to go, but I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to do the next part. Anyway, here's Chopper! Let me know what you thought!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chopper was happily surprised to find how fast his captain was healing. They had just arrived at the port city of Nanohana in Alabasta an hour ago. Chopper had taken the time before they disembarked to check over his captain one last time. It had been a month since Chopper had performed the surgery, but already his captain was practically healed. Chopper didn't want to take any chances however, and decided that the boy should remain on the ship with someone to watch over him while the rest went and got all the necessary supplies.

At first Chopper had wanted to stay, being the doctor, but he needed to go to restock on some of his medical supplies and to help carry everything. Zorro had offered to stay, but in the end it was decided that Usopp would be the one to remain behind.

Now that he was in Nanohana though, Chopper wished he'd pushed to stay behind some more. The stench of the town was nauseating. Sanji had told him it was perfume, and that people – mostly women – wore it to smell good, but with how sensitive Chopper's nose was, the smell of all the perfume was overpowering and disgusting. Not to mention that the desert heat was starting to get too much for him. He needed to find somewhere shady and cool, just for a little while.

* * *

Usopp glanced at his resting captain and quietly made his way out of the room. He could use this time while the others were out and his captain was sleeping to work on some of his inventions. Not to mention now that nobody was around to bother him he could take a close look at their ship and see if any repairs needed to be made. After they'd missed a small hole in the cargo hold and woke up to ankle deep water, he'd taken to checking everywhere on the ship at least once a week.

He may not have been a shipwright, but he knew enough to keep the Merry afloat until they found an actual shipwright to look at her.

Usopp decided he'd check the ship first and stop in on his captain to see if he was awake before starting on his inventions. Couldn't work on any of his projectiles until the others came back with the supplies he needed anyway.

He started at the crows nest, figuring the bottom of the ship was what normally needed patching, so he'd start with what only needed a quick look over before moving onto what would take a longer, more careful combing over.

Taking his time and trying to make as little noise as possible so he didn't wake his captain, Usopp was happy when he found no new holes or cracks that needed patching. Making his way back to where he'd left his sleeping captain, the sniper opened the door and froze.

His captains bed was empty.

Rubbing his eyes and making sure he wasn't dreaming, Usopp ran forward and pulled back the blankets to triple check his captain was really gone. Tearing the room apart, he began panicking when there was no trace of the boy. He ran towards the bathroom, hoping his captain just had to take a leak, but felt his stomach drop when he found the room just as deserted as the previous room. Running through the ship, Usopp called for his captain, dread growing as he continued to find no trace of the boy.

Heart threatening to beat out of his chest and eyes burning with tears, he jumped from the ship and ran towards the town to find the others. If _anything_ happed to his captain, Usopp would never forgive himself.

The others were going to _kill_ him.

* * *

Zoro wanted nothing more than to strangle the sniper, but he knew nothing good would come from it. "What do you _mean_ you _lost_ him?!" Nami's hands were balled at her side, knuckles white as she waited for her answer.

Usopp scrubbed harshly at the tears in his eyes. "He was sleeping, so I thought I'd give the Merry her weekly check over so I wouldn't disturb him, but when I finished and went to check on him, he was _gone_! I looked all over the ship, but he was _gone_!"

Grasping his swords so hard his own knuckles turned white, he stepped forward before anyone else could say anything. "Usopp, Nami, Vivi, Chopper – you four take the stuff back to the ship and check again for him. If he still isn't there, Nami, you and Vivi stay with the ship incase he _does_ find his way back. The rest of us will look for him in town. We meet up back at the ship at sundown if we haven't found him."

Everyone nodded, but Choppers voice stopped them before they could split up. "What if we don't find him by sundown?"

Zoro looked down at the reindeer. "We don't leave until we find our captain." He turned and strode into town. He would find his captain, no matter what.

* * *

Ace grinned easily at the raised eyebrow from Marco when his stomach growled. "Are you ever _not_ hungry, yoi?" Rather than respond, he just laughed, leaving the first division commander to sigh. "There's a restaurant up ahead. We can stop for lunch."

Linking his hands behind his head, Ace began strolling towards their new destination. "Think Thatch is still pouting about not being able to come?"

The left side of Marco's mouth pulled up into a small grin. "Probably. He's bored because the nurses still have him on strict orders to rest and only to light work, yoi."

"He's mostly healed though, isn't he?"

The phoenix nodded. "The nurses are still hesitant to let him do much though. It was too close a call and they're worried if they let him out of their sight he'll do something to wind up right back where he was."

Ace was about to reply when Marco's arm shot out and grabbed his arm, pulling him back and saving him from nearly running over a child. Shooting his friend a smile in thanks, he crouched down in front of the kid and smiled. "Sorry 'bout that. Didn't see you there." The kid kept his head down, not looking at him, and didn't respond. "You alright? I didn't hurt you, did I?" Still not getting an answer or even a reaction out of the kid, he glanced up at Marco who shrugged.

Reaching up, he put a hand on the kid's shoulder. He frowned at how thin it was. He didn't know a lot about kids, but he was sure they weren't supposed to be this small. Taking a closer look, he frowned at all the old scars scattered on his arms and legs. He was still staring at the ground, so Ace slowly moved his hand from the boy's shoulder to his chin, gently pushing up so he'd raise his head. There was one fairly large and noticeable scar under his left eye, and his nose was bent slightly in a way some of Ace's siblings were after being broken multiple times. The kid still wouldn't look at him, keeping his eyes trained on the ground to the left of him.

Ace shared a glance with Marco, neither liking what they were seeing. Swallowing down the anger he could feel rising at seeing a _child_ in this state, Ace forced a grin from the boy. "Hey, what's your name?" He was met with more silence. "My name's Ace, and this is my friend Marco." More silence. "We were just about to get something to eat at that restaurant over there." He pointed to the nearby building, but the boy didn't even turn to look. "Do you want to join us?" At this point he wasn't expecting an answer, but he could barely hear a slight rumble from the boy's stomach and his smile turned softer and more genuine.

Standing up, he held out his hand. "Come on, let's get you something to eat." When the boy didn't move to grasp his hand or follow them, Ace reached down and grabbed the smaller hand, gently tugging the boy forward.

It was a short walk to the restaurant, and Ace helped the boy take a seat at the table when he didn't show any sign of doing so on his own. He left the ordering of the food to Marco and studied the silent child next to him. The kid had his shoulders hunched in slightly, making him appear even smaller than he was, and kept his gaze on the table in front of him. Ace looked over at Marco as the older male sat next to him.

The small group sat in silence for a while before Marco shook his head. "He looks familiar. I just can't think of _why_."

"He's probably not from around here," Ace gestured towards the boy, "judging from his clothes. Do you think he was abandoned here?"

Marco shrugged. "It's a possibility, yoi." They paused their speculating as their food arrived.

Thanking the waiter, Ace placed a plate in front of the boy. "Go ahead and eat as much as you want." He turned to focus on his own food, not wanting to scare the kid by staring at him too much. He couldn't help but glance at the kid every now and then, frowning when the boy didn't make a move to eat, even though Ace _knew_ the boy was hungry.

Ace didn't like this. He wanted to _do_ something, but he didn't know _what_. He turned to Marco. "Ace, I know what you're thinking, yoi."

"We can't just _leave_ him here."

"He's too young. We're _pirates_ Ace, our lives are too dangerous for him."

Ace frowned. He understood what Marco was saying, but still…leaving the kid just didn't sit well with him. "Can't we at least take him somewhere else? Maybe to one of the islands under Pop's protection?" Marco let out a sigh, and Ace scowled. "I know Marco, but leaving him here just doesn't seem right. At least on an island under Pop's protection I'll know he's alright. Whoever did this to him wouldn't _dare_ try and take him back or hurt him again."

The first division commander rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked over at the kid, eyes softening. "We'll take him back to Pops and see what he thinks."

Ace smiled in relief. "Thanks Marco." He turned back to the kid. Seeing the boy still hadn't made a move to eat, his smile dimmed slightly. Reaching out, he placed a hand on the thin shoulder. "Hear that? We're going to make sure you get somewhere safe."

* * *

Marco didn't know why he agreed to take the kid back to Pops. He and Ace had both seen numerous other children who were hurt or in need of help, and while they did what they could for those kids, this was the first one Ace had been addiment about taking back to Pops. Ace _knew_ the kid was too young for the Whitebeard Pirates. And yet, here they were, leading the boy back to the Moby Dick.

Watching Ace interacting with the kid out of the corner of his eye, Marco let himself smile. Ace was showing a gentler side that most didn't think the flame user capable of. He was even letting the kid ride on his back, which was a miracle in and of itself as Ace was big on personal space and didn't tolerate people touching him too much or for too long.

"You seem oddly attached to this kid."

Ace glanced over at Marco and lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug, being careful not to jostle his passenger too much. "I don't know. Not taking him with us just seemed… _wrong_. Can't really explain it."

"Are you sure it's not because you secretly want a younger sibling?" Marco was teasing, but the faint blush that crept up onto his little brother's cheeks as he scowled had him pausing and raising his brows. Everyone on Whitebeard's crew knew Ace would be a fantastic older brother, having seen the way he played with and taught the kids at the islands they stopped at, but Marco had never realized Ace _wanted_ a younger sibling himself. He supposed it sort of made sense – Ace had been part of Whitebeard's crew for about two or two and half years now and was still the youngest. Everyone who'd joined after him had been older.

Stopping and placing a hand on the younger male's arm, Marco waited until Ace looked at him. "Ace, you'd make a _wonderful_ older brother," Ace flushed a deeper red and scowled more, but the first division commander could see the hope in his younger sibling's eyes, "But this kid is just too young to join. You'll get a younger sibling someday, but you're going to have to be patient."

"Even if I _did_ want a younger sibling – and I'm not saying I _do_ – that's not why I want to take him to Pops." Marco waited as his younger brother struggled to figure out what he wanted to say. "I just…I don't _know_ Marco. Something's telling me it's the right thing to do." Ace looked at the ground before adding softly, "The last time I felt this strongly about something was when I felt I needed to go find Thatch."

Marco swallowed. Thanks to that feeling, Ace had gotten to Thatch before it was too late and they'd been able to save their brother. Letting out another sigh, he reached over and ruffled the younger man's hair before gently doing the same for the boy on his back who hadn't made a sound the entire time. "Alright then. Let's take the kid to Pops." The smile Ace gave him was brighter than it had been since Thatch had been attacked.

* * *

Sabo didn't know whether to be amused or exasperated with Ace. Because of his brother, he'd had to spend _hours_ searching for the little captain he was supposed to be checking on, and then even _longer_ searching for the rest of the little captain's crew.

When he finally managed to get them all back to their boat – which was a challenge when the swordsman took _every wrong turn_ – he was _threatened_ into telling them where their captain was, which was what he'd been planning on doing from the start.

And now here he was, trying to keep the Lost Pirates from attacking the Whitebeard Pirates for _'stealing_ ' their captain while the Whitebeard Pirates accused the Lost Pirates of abusing their captain.

When this was over, he was going to kill Ace.

"LOOK!" He sighed in relief as the yelling and accusations stopped and everyone focused on him. Turning towards the Whitebeard Pirates, he glared at his brother. "Ace, let the kid go. I can promise you that they," he waved his hand towards the small crew behind him, "have never _once_ abused their captain."

"How can you be sure?" Sabo _really_ wanted to smack his brother.

"Because we've been watching them."

"What do you mean _'we've been watching them'_?" The revolutionary glanced towards the directionally challenged swordsman.

"The revolutionary army, we've been keeping an eye on you."

"Why?"

"Dragon's orders."

"Why is the leader of the revolutionary army interested in a small rookie crew?"

Sabo pinched the bridge of his nose and turned towards Marco. "Because, _he_ ," He gestured towards the kid Ace still hadn't let go of, "is the son of Monkey D. Dragon. Monkey D. Luffy."

* * *

 **Ace finally arrives and everyone finally learns Luffy's name!** **Luffy's background will be explained a little more in the next chapter.**

 **So for a bit of how I made Ace and Sabo's past go (since I probably won't get to it in the actual story), Ace and Sabo did _not_ meet Luffy before now. Sabo wasn't seen by his father until later on - when he was about fourteen - and after he realized his father had hired guards to hunt for him he decided to leave then rather than wait. He wasn't shot down and was found by/stumbled across some revolutionists and decided to go with them. Ace left when he was seventeen and found a crew but wound up with the Whitebeards in the end.**

 **Teach still betrayed the Whitebeards and stabbed Thatch, but Thatch didn't die. Whitebeard and Marco convinced Ace to wait until they knew if Thatch would be alright or not before they would _all_ go after the traitor, which is why Marco was with him in this chapter.**

 **As for Ace's _feeling_ , well, that was not originally how this was supposed to go. They were supposed to stumble across Luffy, then maybe Smoker coming after Luffy, then someone from his crew would find him and they'd all (minus Smoker) wind up back on the Moby Dick and Ace or Marco or someone would ask what Luffy's name was and the crew would admit to not knowing and then at the end Sabo would appear on the side of the ship and be like, "His name is Monkey D. Luffy." Sadly, that is not how it went. It fought me tooth and nail because apparently this chapter _really_ didn't want to wind up like that. So I got this instead. At least I got him name in there.**

 **I want to work Shanks in here, but the more I write the harder of a time I'm having actually getting him to appear.**

 **And one last little side note - another One Piece story idea has rooted itself into my brain. I may or may not write it, but who knows. Anyway, let me know what you thought!**

 **Before I forget - someone reviewed and asked what would be on the Bounty Poster since nobody knew Luffy's name. I was going to say "Captain of the Lost Pirates" before I realized...they didn't officially become pirates until _after_ the Bounty Poster was released. So I'm not entirely sure what would be on it. Maybe just his picture until after Logue Town and then it'd be reprinted with "Captain of the Lost Pirates".**

 **Someone else asked why they'd go to the Grand Line in this story. And that's because the rest of the crew's dreams can't come true unless they go there, so even though it's dangerous, they go to fulfill their dreams (and also partly to get Luffy as far away as possible from whoever had hurt him since they didn't think whoever had done it would follow them there)**


	4. Chapter 4

_'Luffy. His name is Luffy.'_ Zoro felt relief wash over him at the thought of finally having a name for his captain. "Luffy." He glanced towards Nami, finding a bright smile on her face. "It suits him."

Zoro agreed with the navigator, but scowled as he returned his gaze to the revolutionary. "Why is Dragon interested in his son _now_? Did he not care about what Luffy had to go through? About all the pain he's suffered?"

Sabo frowned at him. "I don't know all the details, but if Dragon had known about what was going on, he _never_ would have let it continue."

"I thought the revolutionaries made it their priority to know everything that was happening in the world." The revolutionary sighed as he turned towards Whitebeard.

"Contrary to popular belief, the revolutionary army doesn't know _everything_ that's happening in the world. We couldn't possibly keep track of it all."

"Was his _son_ just not important enough to _'keep track of'_." The glare Sabo shot Ace was the darkest Zoro had seen from the revolutionary yet, but the second division commander didn't flinch.

"Dragon didn't even know his son was _alive_ until a few months ago when _this_ ," Sabo pulled out Luffy's wanted poster, "Came out. The second he saw it, he dropped _everything_ and rushed to find out if it really was Luffy." He turned towards Zoro and the rest, "He's the one who saved you all from Smoker back in Logue Town."

"Then why didn't he show himself to us? Why didn't he let us know who Luffy was?" The cook's voice was angry, but he wasn't yelling. Not yet.

"He couldn't risk it. If the world government found out that Luffy was his son, they'd be after him even more than they are now. After everything he went through, he wasn't about to put his son in even _more_ danger." Sabo paused and smiled a bit at them. "Besides, he could tell that Luffy had already found somewhere safe with people who cared about him. How could he take his son away from that?"

Zoro didn't say anything, but he knew if Dragon had tried to take Luffy from them, he wouldn't have hesitated to do everything in his power to stop him. He didn't care if the man _was_ Luffy's father. Luffy was _their_ captain.

It was quiet for a few moments as everyone digested what they'd been told. Eventually, Usopp asked quietly, "What did you mean, when you said Dragon didn't know Luffy was alive?"

The revolutionary shook his head. "I don't know the details, but from what I know, there was an attack on the previous revolutionary army headquarters fifteen years ago. Apparently Luffy was very nearly killed – Dragon said that's where the scar under his eye is from – so to keep him safe, Dragon sent Luffy and his wife to the east blue where his father – Garp – was supposed to hide Luffy somewhere safe."

"Fuck." Zoro raised an eyebrow at Ace's curse. Sabo seemed to understand what he meant and nodded. The second division commander stared down at Luffy – who Zoro was upset to realize he _still_ hadn't let go of. "He would have stayed with us."

Sabo smiled without any amusement. "Yeah. Garp was supposed to meet them at Windmill Village and bring Luffy to Dadan's. Dragon figured if nobody had found _you_ there after five years, Luffy should be safe their as well." Sabo's voice got soft as he added, "He would have been your little brother."

"So what happened?" Someone from the Whitebeard Crew spoke up, breaking the silence that had fallen after that bit of information. Zoro didn't know their name. Had to be on of the commanders, since Whitebeard had sent everyone else away while they talked.

"A huge storm hit while they were sailing. The ship never arrived. After a week, Garp and Dragon both went to search for them. They found pieces of the wreck washed up on a tiny, deserted island a few days from Goa Kingdom. They never found any survivors. Iva told me Dragon and Garp both scoured every inch of the East Blue for Luffy. When they didn't find him, they had to assume he'd died in the wreck."

* * *

Ace stared down at the kid – at _Luffy_ – as Sabo finished explaining what had happened. He was supposed to have been Ace's little brother. Ace would have been a big brother. He wondered how different his life would have been, had that storm never hit Luffy's boat. How different would _Luffy_ have been, had he been allowed to grow up with Ace as an older brother?

Ace knew he'd been in a bad place as a child. He'd always been angry, beating up others and trusting nobody. Would Luffy had changed that? Or would Ace have pushed him away? Would Ace have been a good big brother? Would he still have met Sabo?

Feeling a hand on his arm, Ace looked up and found Marco's worried gaze. He tried to force a grin, but it felt more like a grimace, so he gave up and just stared at the first division commander. "I would have been a big brother Marco." His voice was soft, just loud enough for the older male to hear him.

"You still can be, yoi." Marco squeezed his arm reassuringly. "It might be a few years past when you were supposed to meet, but it's better late than never. You said yourself that you didn't know why you were drawn to him. Fate must have brought you two together."

Ace swallowed and nodded, his eyes dropping once more to Luffy. The smaller male still hadn't moved, and while Ace knew he'd eventually have to let Luffy go back to his crew – some of who were glaring at him to try and get him to do so sooner rather than later – he didn't really want to. Something about calling Luffy his little brother just seemed right. The same way taking him back to the Moby Dick had felt right.

Maybe he could convince Luffy's crew to join the Whitebeard Pirates. It would guarantee that Luffy was safe, and he would gain the little brother he was always supposed to have. Turning back to Sabo – who'd kept this from him, the bastard – he interrupted whatever the revolutionary was saying and asked, "How old is Luffy?"

Sabo sent him a small glare for interrupting, but Ace didn't care. The revolutionary sighed but answered. "He turned seventeen back in May." Ace stared at his brother, wondering if Sabo was joking with him, but the revolutionary just stared back.

Ace turned his gaze back to the small male in front of him. He was too small to be seventeen. "His growth was probably stunted from malnutrition." Ace turned to look at the blond cook on Luffy's crew. "When I first saw him, he was skin and bones. I've been reintroducing food to him slowly. I started him on solid food this past week, but it'll still be a while until he's able to eat the same thing as everyone else." Ace wondered if that was why Luffy had refused to eat earlier. If so, he felt a little guilty. He and Marco had put so much food Luffy couldn't eat in front of him when he was obviously hungry.

Thinking about that, he frowned and turned towards Luffy's crew. "Why was Luffy wandering the town alone?" He had a _bounty_ on his head, and Ace had seen the Marines wandering around earlier. Although Ace wondered where the bounty had come from. Was it because he was the captain?

The Lost Pirates all glared at the one with a long nose, who seemed to shrink and stared at his feet. "I was giving our ship her weekly check to make sure there were no repairs that were needed. I thought Luffy was asleep, but when I went to check on him afterwards, he was gone."

The green haired swordsman crossed his arms and turned towards Luffy, his features softening slightly. "I'm glad that he's finally starting to move about on his own, but I hope he doesn't make a habit of wandering off like this. He gets into enough trouble when we're _with_ him. I don't want to know what kind of trouble he'll find when he's on his own."

Ace couldn't help but smile at that as some laughs swept through his siblings. He didn't have to lift his head to know multiple were staring at him. As much as he wanted to be insulted, he knew better than anyone that trouble seemed to follow him around wherever he went. It was something he was teased about _constantly_.

* * *

Sanji wanted to smoke, but he couldn't. Not with Luffy so close. He didn't want to put his captain's health at risk from second hand smoking. But it was grating on him to have Luffy _right there_ , but not with them. That commander, Ace, _still_ hadn't let Luffy go. He wanted to _make_ him let go, but knew the second he tried the rest of the commanders and possibly even Whitebeard himself would retaliate. So he was stuck waiting until Ace decided to let Luffy go.

His hand twitched towards the pocket with his cigarettes in them, but he refrained from actually taking one out. He watched as the blond guy next to Ace, Sanji thinks his name was Marco, leaned over and said something to Ace, who frowned but eventually nodded and _finally_ let go of Luffy. Sanji smiled as their captain made his way over to them without anyone having to prompt it. It really showed how much he'd grown in the past few months.

Sanji expected him to go straight to Zoro – Luffy was attached to him the most, probably because Zoro had been the one to save him. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised when Luffy came to _him_ , one hand reaching up to grasp his jacket. Putting one hand on Luffy's head, he smiled down at his captain. "I'm glad you're alright." He heard a slight rumble and felt Luffy's grasp on his jacket tighten. "Are you hungry?" He hadn't been expecting any sort of response, so he was amazed when Luffy actually _nodded_. It was slight, but he'd responded to a question for the first time.

Sanji's heart soared. His captain was slowly but surely starting to open up to them. "Is that why you left the ship?" Sanji turned his head towards Nami. "You were hungry, so you wanted to find Sanji and have him make you something?" Sanji's smile grew larger as Luffy nodded again.

"Once we get back to the Merry I'll whip you up something to eat, alright?"

"You can use our kitchen." Sanji looked up at the man with a pompadour who'd offered and raised an eyebrow. "If he's hungry, he shouldn't have to wait to eat. You can use our kitchen and the rest of your crew can bring your ship here."

As much as Sanji didn't trust these pirates who'd taken Luffy, he agreed that Luffy shouldn't have to wait to eat if he was hungry. Especially not after having gone to look for food himself for the first time. Looking back down at his captain, he sighed softly and nodded towards the red head. "Lead the way."

Sanji gently took the hand Luffy had grasping his jacket into his and made his way towards the pompadour man. Said man just smiled and headed towards the kitchen. "My name's Thatch, fourth division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and the head chef."

"Sanji."

* * *

 **So here's the next chapter. Not my favorite, but we're slowly moving forward. And Luffy is finally responding! At least a little! Let me know what you thought!**


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